Pippa Middleton's wedding reflects the ostentatious age we live in

In spite of wages rising slower than inflation, we still manage to spend, spend spend, when the occasion demands

Pippa Middleton is set to marry James Matthews over the weekend in a lavish ceremony (AFP/Getty Images)

I don’t feel sorry for Michael Dawes, greedy son of a man who won £101m on the lottery – who claimed the £1.6m he received from his generous dad was insufficient. He obviously hasn’t heard the expression “less is more”.

Michael Dawes quickly disposed of his gift, spending £30,000 a month on living expenses including £1,000 a week on groceries, but that didn’t dent his sense of entitlement and went to court asking for more cash. After the case was dismissed, Dawes’ partner claimed “there are no hard feelings, we just thought we had a genuine claim”.

What is “enough” cash to manage on in 2017? In spite of wages rising slower than inflation, we still manage to spend, spend spend, when the occasion demands – especially when it comes to weddings.

Over the weekend Pippa Middleton is getting married in a style some might find ostentatious – no fireworks, but a spitfire “flypast”, a marquee costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, and a fleet of Range Rovers ferrying guests from the church to the house. Pippa’s vulgar extravagance is only in line with social trends – the average wedding in 2017 now costs over £27,000 while the annual wage is £27,600. We seems to have lost all sense of proportion when it comes to unnecessary spending – surely it’s more important to put down a deposit on a home?

According to John Lewis, wedding lists now reflect the desire for costly “statement” gifts – forget pop up toasters, nowadays people ask for outdoor pizza ovens, curved television sets and wine cooling cabinets. When I got married the first time, my sister gave me an ironing board she scored with cigarette coupons, ruining her health in the process. No wedding is worth that.